Ken Bates, the Australian senior prosecutor in the wrongful conviction of Andrew Mallard for murder, has conceded he failed to comply with his duty to disclose that the victim’s injuries did not match a wrench alleged to have been used in the crime. Bates has been fined $10,000 in the State Administrative Tribunal following an allegation brought by the Legal Profession Complaints Committee that he engaged in unsatisfactory professional conduct as a prosecutor on behalf of the crown during the 1995 trial of Mr Mallard.

In Ireland, prosecutors have lost a bid to stop Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman from being part of an appeal court that will decide whether a man’s conviction 40 years ago for the manslaughter of a young woman was a miscarriage of justice. The three-judge Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed the “special and unusual” application by the DPP for Mr Justice Hardiman to recuse himself from further hearing the case of Martin Conmey. His conviction for the manslaughter of Una Lynskey (19) was overturned two years ago and he wants a declaration of a miscarriage of justice.